Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include several books on prayer. Among them are Donald Whitney’s Praying the Bible and Mark Vroegop’s Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, both excellent reads. On the general market side, you can pick up Seabiscuit for just a couple of dollars.
(Yesterday on the blog: It’s Not a Life of Ease)
Feminism’s Patriarchs: An Ideological Response to the Failures of Men
This is another very interesting article from CBMW. It looks at some of the “patriarchs” of feminism to consider the kind of men they were and what they really thought of women.
Thank You, Parents, for Your Sunday Faithfulness
I appreciate this appreciation of parents who commit to being at church despite the difficulties that come with having small children.
Godly Sorrow vs. Worldly Sorrow
There is a world of difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow. This article traces the distinctions.
Being Transformed From The Inside Out
“Faith in Christ by the power of His Spirit at work in us transforms our inward places. He works in those hidden parts of ourselves that require the deepest surgery; wounds that cut deep into the heart of who we are that only God can make whole. As God reveals Himself to us through opening our eyes to His everlasting love on the cross through Jesus, we are transformed from the inside out.”
What If Everyone at Your Church Was Like You?
Knowing we are all prone to unfairly critique our churches, John suggests that “perhaps we need to balance out our evaluation of our churches with some self-evaluation.”
The Gift and Skill of Praise in Lament
“What words come to mind when you think of lament? Perhaps grief, loss, distress, oppression, injustice, conflict, suffering, affliction, or even guilt? It makes sense for sorrow-laden words such as these to be so closely tied to the term. After all, lament is the tongue of tribulation. And since Godward cries tend to be squeezed from our hearts by unwanted hurt and hardship, it’s understandable if words like praise or gratitude seem miles away when we think about the topic.”
Flashback: Blessed Are the Weak!
It is embedded deep within our depraved nature to regard weakness as misfortune, feebleness as failure, lack of physical strength as lack of divine favor. But nothing could be further from the truth, for weakness draws the eye of God, the heart of God, the strength of God.
…we cannot receive what God has to give when our fists are clenched and our eyes shut, concentrating on our own moral exertion. We need to open up our fists and our eyes and lift both heavenward to receive his love.
—Dane Ortlund
